Seven Horizon League women’s basketball teams were in action this weekend and all seven walked off the court victors as Butler, Detroit, Loyola, Milwaukee, Valparaiso, Wright State and Youngstown State picked up non-conference victories.
Butler 74, Marian 39
Sophomore Sarah Hamm scored a career-high 16 points and freshman Haley Howard added 18 as the Butler women's basketball team won its second straight game, routing local opponent Marian 74-39 Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Hamm was 5-for-10 from the floor and also pulled down nine rebounds. Howard, Butler's leading scorer, got her points on 6-for-16 shooting and 4-for-5 at the foul line. She also grabbed nine boards. Sophomore Mandy McDivitt added 11 points, drilling three 3-pointers
The Bulldogs' defense swarmed, forcing 24 turnovers and holding the Knights to 20 points or less in each half. Marian made just 14 field goals on the day.
The Bulldogs got off to a fast start. BU scored the first 11 points of the game and led by 10 for most of the first half. The Dawgs extended the lead to 33-19 at halftime.
Butler cruised in the second half before pulling away late. Leading 51-34 at the 9:07 mark, Butler used an 11-2 run to lead 62-36 with 4:44 remaining. Butler's first 30-point lead was 69-38 at the 3:05 mark.
BU welcomes IUPUI to Hinkle Fieldhouse Wednesday, Dec. 21 at noon.
Detroit 90, IPFW 60
Four Titans scored in double figures, led by career highs from sophomores Senee Shearer and Megan Hatter, and Detroit never trailed as UDM raced past IPFW, 90-60, on Sunday afternoon on Dick Vitale Court at Calihan Hall.
The 90 points were the most since UDM tallied 90 in a win at Milwaukee last season and the most Detroit has scored at home since a 94-67 win over Cleveland State on Jan. 12, 2002.
Shearer led the way with a game and career-high 23 points along with a career-best five steals and two blocks. Hatter had a career-high 16 on 7-of-9 from the field, while senior Lauren Allen had a season-high 16 and junior Demeisha Fambro netted 13.
The Titans shot a season-high 65.5%, nailing 38-of-58 from the field, including 75% in the second half where they were 22-of-29. The 38 field goals are the most by a Horizon League team this season. UDM also outrebounded IPFW (4-7), 40-23, collected a season-high 13 steals, forced 17 Mastodon turnovers and swatted six shots.
The Titans started early and never trailed as Shearer connected on her first 3-pointer of the game. UDM was ahead, 5-4, when they opened its first double-digit lead with an 11-2 run. It was all Allen and Shearer during that span as Allen netted six and had a pair of steals, while Shearer put in five and added a takeaway of her own.
The Titans shot over 55% in that opening half hitting 16-of-29 shots – with Allen nailing all five of her attempts - as Shearer eclipsed her career high with 17 in that stanza, while Hatter tied her career-best with seven.
Senior Jalesa Jones handed out five assists with a season-high seven rebounds. Her five assists give her 391 in her career, just eight away from tying for fourth in school history. Allen also contributed by tying her season high with six boards, while handing out three assists and coming away with three steals.
The Titans will be right back in action on Tuesday as they host in-state rival Eastern Michigan at 7:00 p.m.
Loyola 69, Nebraska-Omaha 57
Freshman Simone Law and sophomore Troy Hambric each recorded double-doubles, combining for 44 points and 28 rebounds, as Loyola got back on the winning track with a 69-57 win over Nebraska Omaha Sunday afternoon at Gentile Arena.
As has been its trademark this season, Loyola's defense played a big part in the win, holding UNO just 32% shooting for the game to help offset a 38% effort itself.
Loyola got off to a sluggish start, falling behind 11-6 after eight minutes. The Ramblers still trailed by three before Law and Hambric got the team going. The duo accounted for every point in a 13-2 LU run that turned a 14-11 deficit into a 24-16 lead with just under four minutes to play in the half. Loyola stayed aggressive and extended the lead over the last 2:30 of the half, ripping off the final seven points to take a 33-20 lead into the locker room at halftime. Law led the way with 13 points and seven rebounds in the half with Hambric pitching in with 12 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Two Law free throws gave the Ramblers a 37-20 advantage just under 90 seconds into the second half and the margin fluctuated from 12 to 18 points through most of the half until a Monica Albano three-pointer made it a 60-41 game with just over six minutes to play. The Mavericks were able to get to the free throw line to get as close as 10 in the final two minutes but Loyola was able to close it out.
Law was terrific, posting career highs of 28 points and 13 rebounds, while Hambric was equally as effective, finishing with 16 points and a career-best 15 boards, to lead the way. It marked the first time since Feb. 27, 2010 that two Ramblers racked up double-doubles in the same game and Hambric's 15 rebounds were the most by a Loyola player since Jenna Real had 15 against Wright State on Jan. 11, 2007. Albano also reached double figures, finishing with 10 points.
Milwaukee 60, Toledo 57
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team overcame a 16-point, second-half deficit in a span of less than six minutes to complete a thrilling comeback and claim a 60-57 victory over the University of Toledo Sunday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.
Sophomore Courtney Lindfors posted a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Panthers to an improbable win over the Rockets after Toledo led, 46-30, with 9:29 remaining in the contest.
Freshman Ashley Green played a significant role with 16 points and seven rebounds, with sophomore Angela Rodriguez joining them in double-figures with 14 points.
Lindfors, who went out with an injury early in the second half, returned to action with just over four minutes to play in the game and promptly hit back-to-back layups to tie the contest at 48-48 with 4:06 left.
After a pair of free throws by Rodriguez, a Green layup pushed the scoring run to 22-2 and gave UWM a 52-48 lead with just over three minutes remaining. In fact, the 16-point comeback marks the sixth-biggest deficit overcome to win a game in program history.
A couple of long three-pointers kept the Rockets alive, cutting the deficit back to two at 56-54 before Green got an offensive rebound and putback to push the lead to four with one minute left.
Toledo would not go down without a fight. Another deep three made it a one-point game with 36 seconds remaining. Green was the one at the line next, making one of two. Tucker and senior Alex Klawitter forced a jump-ball situation on the rebound and UWM maintained possession. Another foul and made free throw made it a three-point game and the Rockets last-second chance to tie missed.
For the game, Milwaukee won the rebounding battle, 38-to-35, and also the turnover battle at 17-to-16. UWM ended the day at 37.8 percent (17-of-45) from the floor overall, making 22 free throws (out of 33) compared to just 6-of-10 for the Rockets. The Milwaukee defense also held the Rockets to 36.2 (21-of-58) shooting in the game.
The Panthers remain at home and begin Horizon League play next, hosting Loyola Dec. 29 at 7 p.m.
Valparaiso 67, Ball State 53
Valparaiso erased a four-point halftime deficit and held Ball State to just 23.8% shooting in the second half on the way to a 67-53 road victory over the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon at Worthen Arena in Muncie, Ind.
Trailing 35-31 at intermission, the Crusaders scored the first 10 points of the second half, holding the Cardinals without a field goal for the first 7:20. Gina Lange put Valpo on top for good with a pair of free throws and Jessica Carr capped the run with a three-pointer to make it 41-35.
Ashley Timmerman extended the lead to double figures with a triple to make it 50-39 at the 9:12 mark.
Valpo’s defense force the Cardinals to start just 2-of-10 from the floor in the stanza and commit nine turnovers in the first 12 minutes after making just four miscues the entire first half.
Timmerman found Tabitha Gerardot inside for a lay-in to increase the lead to 55-41 with under seven minutes to play.
Dressing just seven players to start the game, Valpo was down to five eligible student-athletes for the final 5:21 after Gerardot fouled out. The Crusaders lost Shaquira Scott for the game in the first half due to injury.
The Crusaders maintained a double digit advantage the rest of the way though. Ashley Varner split two defenders and scored in the lane with 1:37 remaining to push the lead back to 13 and the Crusaders made free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
Valparaiso returns home on Tuesday evening to host Eastern Illinois. Tip-off is slated for 8:05 p.m. at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
Wright State 77, Longwood 44
The women's basketball team jumped out a 37-18 halftime lead in rolling to a 77-44 decision over Longwood Sunday at the Wright State Invitational Presented by Holiday Inn.
WSU led just 17-15 midway through the first half before going on a 20-1 run, one that saw six different Raiders score, to go up 37-16 before two Megan Baltzell free throws for Longwood rounded out the scoring.
Wright State shot 42 percent in the opening 20 minutes compared to 24 percent for the Lancers and also led 11-2 in points off of turnovers as the Raiders forced 13 while committing only five.
The Raiders shot 46 percent in the second half to finish at 44 percent overall while the Lancers ended up at 24 percent. WSU led in points in the paint (30-18), points off of turnovers (25-6) and fast-break points (12-2) and also held a 47-39 rebounding edge.
Kim Demmings paced Wright State with 16 points and added seven rebounds while Molly Fox had a near double-double of 15 points and nine boards. Shaunda Sandifer added 10 points and eight rebounds while freshman Sarah Hunter, making her first collegiate start, recorded 10 assists to go with six points and five rebounds.
The Wright State Invitational Presented by Holiday Inn continues Monday as Wright State takes on Southeast Missouri at noon.
Youngstown State 78, Akron 72
Kenya Middlebrooks scored 13 of her career-high 27 points in the final four minutes as the Youngstown State women's basketball team rallied to defeat Akron 78-72 on Sunday afternoon at James A. Rhodes Arena.
The Penguins scored 51 points and shot 60 percent after halftime and overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to improve to 6-4 on the season. They've now matched their win total from last season and have won five straight road games for the first time since 1997-98. Akron dropped to 5-6.
Youngstown State trailed 60-47 with nine minutes remaining and by eight with five minutes left. Melissa Thompson hit a 3-pointer at the 4:35 mark to start the rally, and Middlebrooks made two free throws after the media timeout to make the score 67-64. Akron upped its lead to 71-65 after two Taylor Ruper free throws at the 3:30 mark, but Youngstown State closed out the game by outscoring the Zips 13-1.
Brandi Brown's 3-pointer cut the deficit in half, and Middlebrooks scored the next five points to give the Penguins a 73-71 lead with 1:45 left. Ti'eshia Stubbs made 1-of-2 from the free-throw line to make the score 73-72 with just over a minute left, but Middlebrooks hit her sixth 3-pointer of the game to push the lead to 76-72 with 50 seconds remaining.
Middlebrooks had a steal on Akron's next possession, and she rebounded Akron's miss with just over 20 seconds remaining. She made two free throws with 6.6 seconds left for the final margin.
Brown finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds, including 10 of each in the second half. Thompson added a career-high 12 points after having 11 points total in the first nine games.
The Penguins outshot the Zips 43.5 percent to 35.7 percent and held the rebounding edge 44-40. Youngstown State made 13 3-pointers, which was two off of the school record. Ten of those triples came on 16 attempts in the second half. Macey Nortey and Kelsea Fickiesen combined for 11 of YSU's 19 assists.|
Youngstown State's next game will be at Stony Brook on Dec. 27 at 7 p.m.
Tags: Butler - Women's Basketball · Detroit Mercy - Women's Basketball · Loyola - Women's Basketball · Milwaukee - Women's Basketball · Valparaiso - Women's Basketball · Wright State - Women's Basketball · Youngstown State - Women's Basketball
